Xeph
From HGWiki
"Xeph" (secret eXtremely Rare)
- requires Elf
FC: Ranger, Rogue
- DEX +8
- WIS +2
- CHA +2
- Free Feats: Weapon Finesse, Great Dexterity I/II, ESF: Discipline/Hide, Luck of Heroes, Legendary Luck, Mounted Combat
- Other: +20 Spot, Very Fast
Description: Xephs stand about 5-1/2 feet tall and are slender and graceful, usually weighing about 140 pounds. Males are typically taller and heavier than females. Xephs' skin is typically brown, and their eyes are dark. Their hair is usually black and straight; some wear it clipped short, while others shave their heads except for a topknot and weave that hair into a single long braid.
Build Notes
With a positively insane maximum starting Dexterity of 30 this race is focused towards a Rogue although the subsidiary points in Wisdom and Charisma allow more build flexibility. Making a Strength based Fighter is entirely possible as you can use the Epic Prowess swaps to gain more Strength. However, with FCs of Rogue and Ranger, many fighter CC builds (for example, any including a monk splash) will suffer a multiclass penalty, as will any other CC build, other than ranger or rogue, when coupled with any other base class splash, other than ranger or rogue. Therefore, the number of builds that this subrace is suitable for without a multiclass penalty is extremely limited. As usual Elf base allows you to make an Arcane Archer although you will have to spend most of your pre-legendary stat points on strength if you want to get OC/DC longbow.
Furthermore, any monk-splash AA will also suffer a multiclass penalty, making this subrace a poor choice for most AAs, as well. A ranger with a rogue splash or a rogue AA are two examples of builds that would not suffer a multiclass penalty with this subrace. However, with the given ability scores, the subrace is ill-suited for a "zogue" (rogue-splashed Zen ranger) and likewise with only +Wis/Cha as secondary stat boosts, and giving up all stat boosts for "max" Dex which is not useful for anything other than a Dex assassin or ranger, the subrace also doesn't make much sense for a rogue AA, either. Meanwhile, most dex assassins will also suffer a multiclass penalty (the exception being bg/ranger). Again, with only +Wis/Cha, the subrace doesn't advertise very well as a Dex ranger, although a bg-splashed dex ranger would work. Of course, there is little value in such a build when ranger already offers excellent performance as a 2h Str build. Finally, another possibility is Dex lash. Unfortunately, the +2 wisdom is irrelevant, leaving the subrace at +12 useful net stat gain with only 1 useful feat, which is worse than every other lash-capable XR. This is also worse than the BUR half-guardinal, given an equal +12 stat gain, plus the useful evasion and FtS immunity, and half-elf base providing QSA Listen whereas elf base would need to sacrifice a pre-epic feat to take Blind Fight anyway, effectively cancelling out any net benefit of bonus Weapon Finesse in comparison, and leaving Half-Guardinal still superior for this niche as, well.
